Sudan: El-Fasher hospitals deliberately targeted by the RSF

A BBC investigation has shed light on the systematic destruction of the healthcare system in El-Fasher, Darfur, by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during their takeover of the city a year ago. According to data collected by the media outlet, at least 43 separate attacks targeted medical facilities between May 2024 and October 2025. These acts have taken a heavy human toll, with 55 deaths, 120 injuries, and 10 disappearances or abductions of medical staff.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, described these findings as "deeply disturbing." He emphasized that these attacks on civilian infrastructure constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law, which may be classified as war crimes. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also described the events in El-Fasher as one of the most severe examples of the impact of the Sudanese conflict on healthcare.

Witnesses, including surgeon Muhamed Suliman, described a deliberate strategy aimed at disabling hospitals to force civilian populations to leave the area. On June 8, 2024, during a raid on the Southern Hospital, staff were targeted. The director of the facility, Dr. Izzeldin Ahmed Dawaud Asow, reported being assaulted by fighters using ethnically charged insults before managing to escape by feigning death.

For his part, Dr. Alaa Eldin Nugud, Minister of Health for the civil government affiliated with the RSF, denied these accusations, labeling them propaganda orchestrated by the national army. He claimed that the Southern Hospital was being used as a military base, a situation which, under international law, can cause health facilities to lose their protection. The Sudanese army, for its part, has also been accused by the WHO of conducting strikes against hospitals in other regions, which it disputes.

Our perspective

The targeted destruction of healthcare infrastructure in Sudan goes beyond the scope of a simple armed conflict; it constitutes a denial of the right to life and dignity for civilian populations. By attacking hospitals, the belligerents seek to break the resilience of communities. International justice must address these facts so that those responsible answer for their actions, because the sovereignty of a country cannot be built on the ruins of its humanity and its healthcare system.